NetherBound
by Karruna Niara
Summary: OC-based fic based upon the Disgaea universe. An escapist prisoner. A human merchant. A washed-up hero. An angelic pilot. An absentminded shaman. A cruel majin general. A terrifying baciel Overlord. Alongside many others, they're all tied with the fate of a dying Netherworld. Rated T for some language.


There always seems to be a feeling of tranquility working under candlelight.

The bright lamps that hung from the ceilings of the Overlord's castle were admittedly nice, but nothing ever beat the atmosphere of torches and candles to set the mood during long rainy nights.

Ermine never liked the lamps much. Hurt his eyes, but he never did dare bother the Overlord about it. He was just a servant. A butler, at that.

Most of the vassals joked that Ermine was old just because of his gray hair and sensitive eyesight. That was far from true, though; his hair was just naturally gray, and he could see well without glasses. Never really understood why everyone poked fun about that, considering that he didn't even fit the image of 'elderly' aside from the gray hair.

He had around half an hour before his break time ended. For Ermine, there was no better way to spend it than by reading books and maps under candlelight. Not the way most demons his age would spend their off-time, but he enjoyed it. For the last while he had been working on a map of the entire Netherworld, working off various battle maps the Overlord's army had.

Being confined to the castle all the time wasn't very fun. Ermine had never set foot outside the castle boundaries, but looking at all these maps, he never expected that there was much more to the Netherworld than just the Overlord's castle. The White Fields, the Searing Mountains, the Marshes of Dread, and various other places that sounded threatening but were probably nice places to visit. Perhaps one day he'd get the chance to take a real vacation to one of those places.

"ERMINE! GET YOUR ASS OVER HERE!" a thunderous yell caused the walls to quiver.

Ermine snapped out of his concentration and got out of his seat. He still was on break; why'd the Overlord call for him?

Regardless, he left the room and made his way down the halls, heading for the throne room. On his way, a penguinlike creature called for his attention.

"Hey, mister! Master Armag called for you, dood!" the prinny said.

"Yes, I heard," Ermine said, walking past the creature. "Rather impossible not to," the butler muttered under his breath.

Not at all happy about being called during his break, Ermine reluctantly entered the throne room. The room was much larger than that of the halls, let alone Ermine's private quarters. The throne at the back of the room was large enough to seat someone several times Ermine's own size.

And large the creature seated at the throne was. Unlike Ermine, the monster in the throne room was burly and thuglike, horns and claws adding to his menacing appearance. A cannon crafted out of some sort of high-tech technology was attached to his right arm.

The beast glared at the butler with his glowing white eyes, his already-red skin turning even redder in anger. It was a look Ermine was all too familiar with.

Ermine wasn't too fond of the beast, but seeing as this was the Overlord and all, he gave a humble bow.

"Master Armagiel," Ermine began, his tone surprisingly polite. "You called for me?"

"'COURSE I DID!" the monster shouted. "WHERE THE HELL IS EREBUS?!"  
Ermine's expression soured. "Oh, him. Why do you need him so badly, anyway?"

"HE'S BEEN GONE FOR AGES!" Armagiel answered. "I KNOW HE'S CAPABLE OF DEALING WITH A BUNCH OF WEAKLINGS, BUT NOW IT SEEMS LIKE HE'S JUST TAKING HIS SWEET TIME!"

'Ages' meant 'a couple of hours' apparently, Ermine thought. He sighed.

"Considering how long it's been, perhaps he will return soon?" Ermine said, still calm.

Armagiel snarled. "FOR YOUR SAKE, ERMINE, YOU BETTER BE RIGHT." He slammed a mighty fist on his throne's arm.

Despite his stoic look, Ermine couldn't help but tremble. Armagiel's threats didn't have much to them, but it looked like he was being serious this time around.

"I WANT YOU TO WAIT OUTSIDE UNTIL THE IDIOT GETS BACK," Armagiel ordered, "AND I DON'T WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN UNTIL HE SHOWS HIS SORRY FACE TO ME!"

Ermine made a quiet noise of discontent. There was no way he was going to wait outside, it was raining. Not that he'd ever tell Armagiel that; he had seen his power in action, and he sure as hell didn't want to be the beast's next practice dummy.

"... R-right," Ermine said. "I'll wait outside."

"GOOD," Armagiel said, his voice calm yet still loud. "NOW GET OUT."

Ermine reluctantly nodded and left the room. Just his luck that he had to wait out his break out in the rain. Never mind that it was the first time in months he was allowed to have time off.

Not like he could do much about it. Again, he was merely a butler to a mighty Overlord.

* * *

[AN: boy oh boy i finally get this up. Actually had this done for about a couple of months but I still think it's pretty rough, even with all the sandpapering.

Anyhow, so marks the beginnings of a little romp in the Netherworld featuring a handful of neat folk among the way. I can't promise the story or cast is too original, but hopefully at least the cast is interesting enough to hold your attention. Chapter 1 is currently in the works as of this writing, but I'll get it up when I can.

I'd really appreciate any critique as far as the writing itself goes! Writing is in no way my strong suit, so I'd appreciate any help I'd get!

Hope you all enjoyed the chapter! Expect more to come, hopefully!]


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